May 11: Members of the British Group Inter-Parliamentary Union (BGIPU) toured The British College, Trade Tower, Thapathali on Wednesday May 9.

The British Group Inter-Parliamentary Union is part of the global organisation of national parliaments that aims to promote democratic governance, institutions and values, working with parliaments and parliamentarians to articulate and respond to the needs and aspirations of the people, according to The British College.  

Issuing a press statement, The British College said that BGIPU works for peace, democracy, human rights, gender equality, youth empowerment and sustainable development through political dialogue, cooperation and parliamentary action.

Rajen Kandel, CEO and founder of The British College, welcomed the distinguished guests by sharing his own account of how the British education transformed him into a driven business leader with strong connections to his homeland, Nepal, and to his adopted Britain.

As a result of these experiences he felt it was his duty to bring English quality education to Nepal, which led to the founding of The British College in Kathmandu. He expressed his hope that the visit would further strengthen relations between the two countries.

College Principal Dr John Bateman echoed Mr Kandel’s words by expanding on The British College’s aim to provide a transformative experience for students in both academic study and personal social development. He spoke of the college’s mission to cater to the career aspirations of local young people and the school’s excellence in meeting the demands of local employers. He highlighted recent successes in student exchange programmes, recruitment of international faculty and 1800 local and the 52 international students successfully engaged in the college programmes. 

British MP Nigel Evans concluded the event by addressing staff and students, praising the proud traditions of the 3000 Gurkhas currently serving in the British army and expressed his pride in seeing the British-style education system, the best in the world, being provided at The British College. 

 He concluded by quoting famous words from Margaret Thatcher, the famed former Conservative prime minister, encouraging students ‘to go out and do great thing’.

The British College expressed its gratitude to the British Group Inter-Parliamentary Union for both the honour of its visit and the strong words of encouragement given to the students.